


do not dwell in lands no longer yours

by Kalcite



Series: Kalcite's Fictober 2020 [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M, Multi, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26896183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcite/pseuds/Kalcite
Summary: When Solas comes for Skyhold, the future holds no hope for Inquisitor Lavellan. With nowhere else to turn, he takes a gamble and returns to the past.
Relationships: Lavellan/Solas (Dragon Age), Male Lavellan/Solas
Series: Kalcite's Fictober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957660
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Reclaiming Skyhold

**Author's Note:**

> The opening passage is Suledin, from volume 1 of World of Thedas. It's also where I took the title from!  
> (in elgar sa vir mana, in tu setheneran din emma na / take spirit from the long ago  
> but do not dwell in lands no longer yours)
> 
> This is part of my 2020 fictober, with this chapter being for prompt 3: "You did this".

_melava inan enansal,_ _  
__ir su aravel tu elvaral,_ _  
__u na emma abelas._ _  
__in elgar sa vir mana,_ _  
__in tu setheneran din emma na._

 _lath sulevin,_ _  
__lath araval ena,_ _  
__arla ven tu vir mahvir,_ _  
__melana ‘nehn,_ _  
__enasal ir sa lethalin._

* * *

Skyhold was in disarray. Agents of the Dread Wolf had appeared from seemingly within its deepest halls and the few remaining soldiers were scattered and scrambling to try and repel the attack. It wasn’t enough; the majority of their forces had left with the dissolution of the Inquisition just one year prior and they were a poor match for the agents that came armed to the teeth and with no mercy in their eyes.

Fen’Harel had come to reclaim his stronghold.

Mahvir pushed himself to cast another barrier on every familiar face he could, simply to try and hold out a little longer. He couldn’t help but be reminded of when Corypheus had attacked Haven. They were unprepared, outnumbered and had no hope of winning. The only difference this time was that there was no final trick to save the day and no hidden tunnel to escape through. They were going to-

No. Throwing back another lyrium potion, Mahvir simply gritted his teeth and kept going. Barriers on Cassandra and Blackwall, where they’re barely holding the front line. Dispel off to the left where Bull and Dorian fight back to back against a flanking unit. Cullen goes down, joining the countless others who hadn’t fared well in their fights.

Taking a breath, Mahvir steadied himself. _Remember your training. Keep calm, any fear or desperation and you risk pulling something unfriendly through the veil. The blade is the main trapping associated with the knight enchanters, but their true strength is their ability to rejuvenate their allies and bring them back from even the most dire of situations. Call on the spirits of the fade and-_

No.

Nothing answered the call, not even the demons that were often so eager to pull through the veil and make deals. Mahvir felt as though he’d been knocked off balance, as if someone had come to take his other arm from him. Before he could begin to contemplate what this meant, the ground began to tremble. He didn’t even have time to call out a warning as he sensed magic swell from beneath his feet.

By the time that the red lyrium spiked out of the ground, he knew it was too late. It speared upwards, impaling the remaining Inquisition forces - _my friends, they were my friends_ \- and leaving Skyhold covered in crystalline structures. Yet there was a perfect circle around him that was without its corruption and, leading from it, a single clear path.

An invitation. Mahvir felt his heart sink. Hesitant as he was to oblige, Mahvir took a step forward before breaking into a run. The path led down hallways, once familiar and comforting, yet now had red lyrium snaking up between the cracks in the bricks. As he got deeper into Skyhold, the sinking feeling in his chest got stronger. He knew where he was being shepherded into. When he reached the locked door that was newly ajar, his suspicions were only confirmed.

He pushed it open with tentative fingers and it swung open with an ominous creak. Standing in front of him was Solas, the Dread Wolf himself, framed by the eluvian that rested behind him. He was wearing a different set of armour than the last time they had seen one another, yet it was still adorned with pelts. Arms clasped behind his back and face carefully held into neutrality, he was already looking towards the door as if he’d been expecting him at that exact moment.

 _Probably was,_ Mahvir thought. _Bastard._

“That was supposed to be sealed,” he said. “We had an expert do it.”

Solas' expression stayed blank. “An expert, you say. I wasn’t aware that there were any experts when it came to the eluvians. Resourceful as ever, Inquisitor.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not the inquisitor anymore.”

“No, I suppose you’re not,” he said, with a dry laugh. “Though you act as though you wear the mantle of it still. Knowing you, it should have been obvious you wouldn’t just let this go.”

“Letting things go, huh? Just like you did, Mr. _I’m going to rip open the sky and get back to how things used to be._ You’d know all about letting go, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re angry. That’s… fair, I suppose. I had hoped that some time would make you more open to my plans but…”

“But what? You really thought I’d be okay with you tearing the world apart? And, what, we could just ride off into the sunset and things would be okay?”

This earned a smile from Solas, sad and bittersweet and entirely unexpected. He stepped closer, the smile fading when Mahvir moved away. “Wishful thinking. You always were able to make me act a fool. For what it is worth, vhenan, I am sorry.”

“You’re not,” Mahvir said, voice forced to a whisper. “You did this, all of this. If you were really sorry then you would have stopped before it got to this point. You wouldn’t have left.”

His hands curled into fists at his side and he knew that he was shaking, bordering on tears. This time when Solas took a step forward, he didn’t move away and allowed the older man to pull him into an embrace. He held back for a moment before he gave in, arms wrapping around his back and holding tight to the furs there.

It was nice, seeming as if nothing had ever changed between them for just a few seconds, until Mahvir felt a stabbing pain in his back.

“Truly,” Solas whispered, twisting the knife. “I am sorry.”

Fen’Harel drew away, eyes regretful despite how his expression was otherwise stone-faced. Mahvir slumped sideways, falling against the wall, and could only watch as he walked away without another look back.


	2. Magister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober day 4: "That didn't stop you before".

_ Bastard. Can’t believe he actually stabbed me. _

The wound, for now, had been temporarily closed with a hastily cast fire spell. It hurt like hell but Mahvir had at least cauterised it from the outside. Any internal bleeding would have to wait until he could find a healer. Or if he could find a healer.

But that had to wait. As much as he hated to admit it, the situation there was a lost cause. There was only one thing left to do. He only had to hope that Solas left that place for last.

He headed for the dungeons.

Once the Inquisition had disbanded, they’d had little need for the cells. Eventually, some were converted into a new research lab for some of the mages and their more dangerous experiments. When Solas had attacked, however, most of them had moved to try and defend the stronghold.

Still, one mage remained. And he’d put up some barriers to blockage himself inside. Mahvir was sure that Solas would have no issue with them, but they would manage to do the trick against most of his agents. As it was, Mahvir found himself rapping his knuckles against the stone of the archway, carefully avoiding the sparking barrier that blocked it.

“Knock knock,” he joked, brow furrowing as the blockade stayed in place. “Are you going to let me through any time this year?”

“Ah, Inquisitor,” a voice replied. “I was worried that it might have been an agent. Even now, I cannot be sure how safe it would be to drop the barrier.”

“Stop screwing around, Alexius.” At last, the barrier fizzled out and Mahvir could step into the lab, throwing up his own replacement barrier behind him. “I need you to show off that temporal speciality of yours. And you know I’m not the inquisitor anymore.”

Alexius hummed, as if in thought. “I’m not entirely sure what you’re referring to.”

“I’ve read your research and I know what you’re capable of. Send me back.”

“Meddling with time, past or future, will only lead to ruin.”

“Well, that didn’t stop you before, did it?”

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he claimed, a hand moving to hold over his heart. “I’m a reformed man. Was that not what you were aiming for when you conscripted me for your Inquisition?”

“I know you didn’t stop your experiments fully, Alexius,” Mahvir said, fighting back the urge to hit the man. “Do you really think we wouldn’t realise?”

“That’s a bold claim, Inquisitor. If you really knew then why would you not have stopped me sooner?”

“Because we knew that one day we might end up in a damnable situation like this.”

That seemed to catch Alexius off guard. “You… planned for this?”

“Technically, Leliana planned for this. Dorian and I have been looking over everything to mark your progress and check that you weren’t going to accidentally rip another hole in the sky. He wasn’t pleased but he seemed to think it was going rather well.”

Alexius grumbled to himself but turned and shuffled through his desk. Mahvir watched as he emptied a desk completely of its papers and then removed a false bottom from it. And from there, he pulled out a leatherbound book.

“Is that it?” Mahvir asked, reaching out for it only to have Alexius pull it back.

“This is just my research,” he said waspishly. “The actual device is here.” He reached back into the drawer and pulled out a ring, placing it on Mahvir’s outstretched hand. It was a simple silver band, with no engravings and the only ornamentation being a small, green gem in the centre.

“This is it?”

“Well, I  _ was  _ trying to be inconspicuous about it. I figured this was more easily looked over than the amulet I used last time.”

“We never found out what exactly it was, so it kind of worked. How does it work?”

“Theoretically, it sends a person’s essence through time. Part of the spell is that it binds itself to the version of yourself from the past, taking over the body.”

“So you wouldn’t be sending all of me, just my soul?”

“Yes,” Alexius reaffirmed. “In theory.”

“That’s a lot of hypotheticals there.”

“Yes, well. It’s not entirely complete yet. I’ve yet to properly stabilise the whole spell but-”

“How long?”

“Excuse me?”

“How long will it take to complete? I don’t know if you noticed, but we probably don’t have long until Solas finds out he didn’t manage to get rid of me for good.”

“Inquisitor, as much as I hate to admit it, you are smarter than this,” Alexius said, looking all the world like he was having his teeth pulled at the admission. “I know that you’re aware of what happens if a spell isn’t properly stabilised.”

“Best case scenario, we explode,” Mahvir agreed. Despite the situation, he found himself grinning. “But the way I see it is, if we don’t do this then we’ll die anyway. At least this way I might get a chance to fix this whole mess.”

Alexius sighed. “I don’t agree with this plan.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have a choice then. The Inquisition may not exist any longer, but I’m charged with your custody. So, consider this an order. Send me back.”

Alexius let out another long-suffering sigh. Rather than argue, he simply turned his back and got to work.


End file.
